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      1. Reducing Impacts
        1. Farming
          1. Palm Oil
Find out more about WWF's forest conservation work around the world

What is WWF doing about conversion of forests for palm oil?

position papers

Making room for wildlife, forests, and sustainable palm oil

Palm oil plantation. Tesso Nilo, Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia.

Clearing for oil palm plantations threatens some of the world’s greatest forests, endangered species such as orangutans, and puts forest-dwelling people at risk.

But with better management practices, the palm oil industry could provide benefits without threatening our some of our most breathtaking natural treasures.

Key publications

How "green" are the palm oil purchases of European companies?

Find out on WWF's Palm Oil Scorecard

What is the problem with palm oil?

For this reason, WWF calls for:
  • socially acceptable and environment-friendly production and sourcing of palm oil, and
  • increased demand for, and use of, goods produced under such practices.
     

How will we achieve this?

Better production Improving policy Transforming markets Responsible consumption Responsible financing

Developing better production practices that reduce the environmental and social impact of palm oil

Identifying areas that should be zoned out of production due to their high conservation value, while encouraging production on available degraded lands
Calling for transparent land-use planning processes to achieve an optimal distribution of natural forests, plantations, agricultural areas, urban areas and other land-use
Promoting responsible purchasing and investment policies in the sector
more

Conducting seminars for companies that buy these commodities so that they can procure them more responsibly
Inviting consumers to choose products made from sustainable palm oil		 Providing guidance to the finance sector on sustainable financing and investing in the palm oil sector
more

news

newsletter

Reaching those objectives requires a common language for industry, environmental and social groups to work together. Through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), WWF has helped to establish a platform for these parties to collaborate towards the production of sustainable palm oil.


Thanks to the RSPO, sustainable palm oil is now on the market

By applying stringent production criteria to all stages of palm oil manufacture, some companies are proving that oil palm plantations need not flourish at the expense of rainforests. 

But so much more remains to be done.

Too many palm oil producers still ignore the destructive impacts of palm oil plantations, contributing to biodiversity loss and social unrest and more companies that buy palm oil need to switch to using certified sustainable palm oil in their products.

WWF asks that companies in the palm oil chain:
  • recognize that their activities can cause environmental damage and social problems, and commit to doing something about it,
  • identify which of their products include palm oil (and to what extent), and
  • promote good practices by engaging in the international roundtable discussions and start sourcing responsiblycertified sustainable palm oil.
What else is WWF doing toward sustainable plantations, including soy?

WWF’s long term vision is that plantations:

  • do not threaten high conservation value areas
  • are managed according to sound environmental practices
  • deliver positive social impacts
  • are developed under appropriate regulatory frameworks
  • operate transparently
  • reduce their greenhouse gas emissions

On the financial side...

We try to eliminate incentives for palm oil production that lead to the conversion of natural habitats, and misguided investments that support environmentally destructive forest conversion.

To achieve these results, we collaborate with governments, producers, investors, retailers; NGOs and research centres from around the world to develop responsible forest management and land use plans for where - and how - plantation expansion may take place.

WWF priority places where oil palm plantations are found and can be an environmental threat:


Species affected by palm oil plantations:

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